Elizabeth Taylor made one of her final public appearances at Michael Jackson’s 2009 funeral, sitting in the front row in her wheelchair. The iconic actress, who passed away at 79 due to congestive heart failure, had a profound and well-documented friendship with the pop superstar.

Taylor and Jackson first met in the 1980s, and their bond grew quickly. According to the New York Post, Taylor had left one of Jackson’s concerts early, prompting a tearful call from Jackson asking why. Taylor explained that she couldn’t see or hear the performance properly. This candid conversation marked the beginning of their close friendship. “Then we met, and spent more and more time with each other, and just became really good friends. Told each other everything,” Taylor recalled in 2006.

Their friendship was deeply rooted in shared experiences, particularly the struggles of childhood fame. Taylor gained stardom at age 12 with her role in National Velvet, while Jackson began performing at age 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5. Despite their 27-year age difference, they connected over these early life pressures and the impact on their personal lives.

Throughout Jackson’s legal troubles and accusations of child molestation, Taylor stood by him, insisting that her own experiences at Neverland Ranch were innocent and wholesome. “There was nothing abnormal about it. There was no touchy-feely going on. We laughed like children, and we watched a lot of Walt Disney. There was nothing odd about it,” she stated.

Their friendship extended into their public lives as well, with Jackson often attending Taylor’s AIDS charity events and walking red carpets with her. They even lived near each other in Bel Air and Beverly Hills. It is believed that Taylor first dubbed Jackson the “King of Pop” when she presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989.

Jackson expressed his admiration for Taylor in a 1993 home video, calling her one of his few true friends. “Elizabeth is one of the most loving, loyal, caring people that I know.”

Taylor was deeply affected by Jackson’s death in 2009. She tweeted shortly after his passing, “I’m home from the hospital sore, but intact. Of course I’m still grieving for Michael . . . I always will. My heart . . . my mind . . . are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together.” She described their friendship as “the purest, most giving love I’ve ever known… I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other.”

In a statement released after Taylor’s death, LaToya Jackson acknowledged Taylor’s steadfast friendship with her brother, noting that she was “an incredible friend to my brother, at his side through some of his most difficult times, and, of course, loved by his children and our family. She will live on in our hearts forever.”